The veteran defenceman will have a minor operation next week to remove small bunions from his feet that were causing discomfort in his skates. Recovery time is said to be 3-4 weeks.

Winger Alex Kovalev was scheduled to have surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee Tuesday in Pittsburgh, while Milan Michalek is also waiting to have similar knee surgery. Both players face 6-8 weeks of rehab.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson is expected to go under the knife to repair a sports hernia this week or next and will require 4-6 weeks of recovery time.

Ice chips

Nick Foligno is headed to Germany. The 22-year-old winger has accepted an invitation to play for the U.S. at the world championship, which will be held May 7-23 in Cologne, Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen. "It's a great honour to play for your country," said Foligno, a Buffalo native. Foligno also participated at the world championship last year in Switzerland, where the Americans finished fourth after dropping the bronze-medal game to Sweden ... The Senators have announced the signing of Colin Greening, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound centre they picked in the seventh round of the 2005 draft. A native of St. John's, Greening had 15 goals and 35 points in 34 games this season at Cornell ... Senators president Cyril Leeder reports the team has already hit the 90% mark in season-ticket renewals, a record high. With 10,000 season-ticket holders, Leeder is hopeful of reaching the 11,000 mark over the summer.